


Maybe this is where I'm meant to be

by qeut



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Fluff, It's really not my best I'm sorrrrrry, M/M, and I'm on the night train, and this has happened, ashton looks after him, calum is fond, fluffy fluffy fluff, i am ill, luke is sick, mikey's only mentioned, this is nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-11
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-02-08 11:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1939314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qeut/pseuds/qeut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 Seconds of Summer have been overworked, Luke is beginning to get sick on tour, and Ashton looks after him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe this is where I'm meant to be

The blonde boy lying face down on his hotel bed coughs for the third time in as many minutes and Ashton does his frowny face. 

"You're getting sick," he tells Luke, and now it's Luke's turn to do the funny crinkled grimace they've all come to know so well. 

"M'not," he says, shaking his head firmly, but his argument is further weakened after he erupts into fits again, whole body convulsing until the cacophony finally dies away. They've just come off stage in Madrid, and the endless travelling and continuous promotional activities are taking their toll on Luke's health. 

Ashton gives him a look. 

"Okay," Luke says - croaks - in admission. "Okay."

So that's really how Luke ends up being stripped of his shoes and skinny jeans by Ashton - really, he thinks to himself, this is really happening - and led to the bathroom where a toothbrush is pushed between his pliant lips. "Piss, if you need to," Ashton says as he slips out of the door, "and then you're going to bed."

It's not like Ash to act so motherly, he thinks - yes, that's exactly the word for it - but as the eldest in the band, Luke knows that he does feel a sense of responsibility for his boys, especially Luke himself, who's not even turned eighteen yet. When Calum got food poisoning last year in Perth, Ashton was the one to stay up all night with him on the bathroom floor, making sure he was okay, similarly, when Michael got ill in Toronto, the drummer rejected a night out with the All Time Low boys to keep him company as Mike snivelled his way through a box of tissues and several episodes of How I Met Your Mother.

He's just caring like that.

Now, as Luke exits the bathroom - briefly wobbling as his feet meet the carpet, Ashton doesn't miss the action and raises his eyebrows minutely - the older boy pulls back the covers on Luke's double bed and pats the mattress. "Do you want a hot drink?" he asks softly, and Luke shakes his head. 

"Just water," he tries, voice cracking, and Ash rubs his back sympathetically as Luke climbs into the refreshingly cool sheets, coughing again once he's settled. "This isn't very good," he says, referring to his own situation, and he can practically hear Ashton's eyes roll. 

"Way to state the obvious," he says, but there's a smile behind it, it's almost disgustingly fond, and Luke finds himself grinning despite the pain in his throat. "Don't you worry about what a disaster this is for the entire band, Lukey. We've got a contingency plan. Niall's gonna wear some shades, see, and Lou Teasdale will do his hair so it's like yours - it's all sorted, he'll borrow your guitar, wear your t-shirt - in fact, he's practically replaced you in the band." Ashton's sitting on the edge of the bed now, stroking Luke's forehead lightly, and he knows exactly how to make the younger boy smile. "Seriously, though, don't even think about it. Just concentrate on getting better." His tone is softer, more serious now. "Do you want anything? Painkillers? Hot water bottle? Male strippers?"

Luke snorts, despite the twinge he feels as he does so. "Twelve of Madrid's finest, please," he manages to rasp, making Ashton grin. "No. I'm fine. Just need some rest, I think."

The elder of the pair nods. "I think so too. Let me know if you need anything. I'm just next door." He presses a quick kiss to Luke's forehead and grimaces, muttering "goodness, Lukey, you're burning up. Sleep well."

Luke thinks he murmurs a goodnight but he's too out of it to really be sure. He doesn't even have time to register the light being flicked off before his eyes flutter shut and he's descending into sleep.

He wakes later, not sure what the time is, physically shaking with cold, beads of sweat running down his face and pooling at the neck of his t-shirt. Luke's dreams have been vivid, unpleasant and unexplainable, bright lights and multicoloured arrows pulling him in numerous directions, tearing him apart. He abruptly realises he's breathless.

Luke fumbles around on the bedside table as he searches for his phone, pressing the home button with clammy hands. 

02:54. 

The too-bright display reads a time that the feverish boy barely registers. Luke shivers again and nearly drops the device altogether. He grabs it with both hands and pulls up Ashton's number, tapping at the screen numbly. "Need u," the text reads, and Luke doesn't even have the energy to read it over before pressing send. 

It's less than a full minute before Ashton appears before him holding a bottle of water and a couple of white tablets, wearing nothing but a clingy pair of black boxer shorts. Luke can't quite believe it. "Shh," he says, despite the younger boy's silent state, and then he's unscrewing the lid of the bottle and forcing him to take small sips. "These too," Ash tells him, pushing the pills into Luke's palm, and the blonde tips them into his mouth obediently before swallowing them dry.

"Thanks," he tries to say, but it comes out as a rasping whimper, and abruptly he's shivering again, physically shaking despite the air temperature being completely normal.

Ashton frowns. "Oh, Luke," he sighs. "I'm sorry you're ill."

And, well, Luke wants to laugh, because it's not Ash's fault at all - if anything, he's the younger boy's guardian angel tonight - but he doesn't have the energy to voice any of these thoughts. Instead, he watches Ashton place the water on the nightstand next to him before he peels back the bedcovers and climbs in next to Luke, all long limbs and strong muscles and warmth. Luke clings to him immediately, like a child who's been reunited with its mother after getting lost in the supermarket. 

It would almost be funny if Luke weren't half delirious.

"You're okay," Ashton reassures him, shifting so that Luke is pressed against him fully, the elder's body heat soothing against his flushed skin. "You're okay," he repeats, and Luke thinks yeah, he is, here with Ash, it's all going to be fine.

"Thanks," he murmurs into the drummer's chest, and Ashton presses a soft kiss to Luke's forehead in response. 

Luke sleeps well after that, only awakening when Calum pushes the curtain back at half past ten the following morning, bright light streaming into the room, Ashton whimpering slightly at the intrusion.

"Morning," Calum half-whispers, smiling at the two boys huddled into one another.

"Morning," Luke sighs contentedly, his voice muffled against the skin of Ashton's neck. The older boy just pulls him closer, and Calum chuckles. 

"I'll leave you to it," he says, glancing at his watch. "We're out at twelve."

"Mmm..."

They lie curled up in one another for the next forty-five minutes, and Luke thinks that he's never been more content, warm, protected by Ashton's strong arms and his sweet-smelling curls, and maybe, just maybe -

Maybe this is where he's meant to be.


End file.
